China obliged to defend North Korea under 'friendship' treaty

Allison Jackson, GlobalPost

Published 12:00 am, Thursday, April 4, 2013

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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A South Korean man who is waiting to head to the North Korean city of Kaesong, watches a news program airing file footage of a North Korean rocket displayed during a military parade at the customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju, South Korea, near the border village of Panmunjom, April 4. less

A South Korean man who is waiting to head to the North Korean city of Kaesong, watches a news program airing file footage of a North Korean rocket displayed during a military parade at the customs, immigration ... more

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

China obliged to defend North Korea under 'friendship' treaty

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North Korean threats to launch a nuclear attack on the United States have left its closest ally, Beijing, in a difficult position.

While Beijing is no doubt furious with Pyongyang over its provocative nuclear tests and fiery rhetoric, it cannot afford to turn its back on the North. If Kim Jong Un's regime were to collapse, millions of North Korean refugees would likely flood across the border into China.

It's a factor that hasn't been lost on the North Korean leadership.

"North Korean leaders appear to have used this interest to neutralize their country's growing economic dependence on China; the greater North Korea's dependency, the more fearful Chinese leaders may be that a sharp withdrawal of PRC economic support could destabilize North Korea," according to a 2010 Congressional Research Service report.